


You are a thousand stories long

by OceanAndARock



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: F/F, Swan Queen - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-26
Updated: 2021-02-26
Packaged: 2021-03-17 12:15:28
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,333
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29717034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OceanAndARock/pseuds/OceanAndARock
Summary: "Singing Princess Emma isn't my favorite model."Emma wants to know what model is Regina's favorite.Set after 6.11 when Regina and Emma have returned from the Wish Realm.
Relationships: Evil Queen | Regina Mills/Emma Swan
Comments: 15
Kudos: 107





	You are a thousand stories long

**Author's Note:**

> Title from a poem by Nikita Gill.

After a long day in which Regina has lost Emma, found Emma, nearly been killed by a fake version her son, nearly been killed by Rumple and brought an alternate version of her deceased ex-boyfriend from the Wish Realm to Storybrooke, Regina is ready for bed. She is just finishing her drink when there is a knock at the door. She hopes it is not one of the Charmings, come to tell her about some urgent new threat to the town.

It’s Emma, who is in most circumstances by far the most preferable Charming, although that will depend on why she is here. Emma is learning against one of the pillars, like she may not be capable of standing up independently. 

“What _is_ your favorite model?” Emma asks when Regina looks at her, tilting her head as she asks.

Regina is nonplussed. She has had some unusual conversations with this woman whilst fighting evil together over the years, but Emma knocking on her door close to midnight to ask her about, her favorite model of what..? _car? flying carpet?_ is one of the more nonsensical things she has done. 

Perhaps sensing Regina’s confusion, Emma says “me” as if that clarifies matters.

“Emma…” Regina replies somewhat tersely, really not in the mood for indulging in whatever nonsense this is after what has been a long and draining day, following several days’/weeks’/years’ worth of similarly challenging days.

“You said that singing Princess Emma wasn’t your favorite model, so I was wondering what is your favorite?” Emma asks lightly, as if it is perfectly reasonable to knock on her door at night to ask something so narcissistic; but this is not like Emma and underneath the light tone Regina detects there is more to this visit.

“Well certainly not the drunk version that knocks on my door with inane questions when I am about to go to bed” is Regina’s response, because whatever _this_ is she is not sure she has the energy to deal with it right now. Maybe tomorrow, if there are fewer attempts on her life.

“I’m not drunk!” says Emma drunkenly. “If I was drunk would I be able to do this?” Emma snaps her fingers and disappears. 

Regina panics for a second until she hears a crashing noise from her study and heads back in to the house, resigning herself to the fact that she is not going to be getting to sleep any time soon. As she had expected, Emma is in her study, lying on the floor, having apparently managed to trip over her own feet. 

“Regina!” Emma says, standing up unsteadily. “I was just poofing myself home, but I must have missed. I’ll try again.” Emma goes to snap her fingers and is frozen in place by Regina. 

Regina is about to say something to admonish Emma, when she hears Henry calling out. “Mom, are you okay?! I heard a crash!” He appears at the door to the study. “Why is Ma frozen? What’s going on?”

“It’s nothing to worry about, darling” says Regina gently. “I’ve frozen your mother for her own safety, she was trying to magic herself home whilst inebriated. I’ll unfreeze her now as long as she agrees not to do any more magic until she’s sober.”

Regina looks at Emma for confirmation, but as frozen Emma is not in a position to make any gesture of acquiescence Regina has to give her the benefit of the doubt. She twirls her hand and with a superfluous puff of smoke Emma is unfrozen.

“Ma, what are you doing here?” Henry asks.

“I just came to ask Regina something, it’s not important” says Emma sheepishly.

“Emma has apparently decided that she needed to know right now before any of us allowed to sleep which my favorite version of her is.”

“Mine is the version that makes me pancakes for breakfast” Henry says casually. 

Regina rolls her eyes fondly. “That’s just like your birth mother, thinking of your stomach.”

“No, I just meant that you are both amazing people; you’re always fighting villains and saving everyone’s lives. But making breakfast, that’s just regular Mom stuff. I don’t need the fairy-tale heroics; you would both still be amazing to me if you were just my Moms.” 

Regina smiles her _look how wonderful our son is_ smile at Emma as she pulls Henry into a hug. Henry pulls his other mother in to join them. A moment later Henry ducks out of the hold leaving Regina and Emma still with an arm around each other as he heads back upstairs. Regina puts her other arm around Emma. They’re not normally the kind of friends who hug each other without their son being included, but Emma seems a bit lost tonight and maybe this will help. Emma tucks her head into Regina’s shoulder and Regina rubs her back soothingly until Emma pulls away. 

“I thought Henry wanted me to be the Savior. That’s the whole reason he came and found me when he was ten, so I could save Storybrooke. The only time I got to just be a normal Mom to him was that year in New York, and that wasn’t real.”

“The memories before it may have been fake, but that year was real.” Regina says softly. “Emma, why did you come here tonight?” she asks, taking a seat on the couch and Emma does the same. “Why aren’t you at home with Hook?”

“I saw a version him, in the Enchanted Forest, you know, when you were off chasing fake Robin. He was old, and fat and drunk. He threatened August and said that he was there to save me, for the reward. It made me wonder if that is what Hook will be like in the future.” 

“My Hook” Emma says, and Regina tries not to grimace at the _my_ “this Hook, he likes the idea of dating the Savior. Fake Hook saw me as a wealthy damsel in distress. I don’t think any version of Hook really likes regular-mom-Emma, co-parenting Henry with you. But that’s when I feel most like myself, when I’m with you and Henry.”

Regina leans forward and takes Emma’s hands. “Do you want to know what my favorite version of you is?” Emma nods.

Regina thinks of all the moments she has shared with Emma. Emma thrusting a sword into a swirling malevolence and becoming the darkness to save Regina. Her bright hopeful smile when she replied “See, that’s a start” after Regina saying she didn’t want to kill her. The way she had challenged Regina with her hot-headed attack on Regina’s apple tree that first year, when all their interactions led to a righteous anger that made Regina feel alive. And a lot more recently Emma and Regina watching their son attend a ball with his first girlfriend.

“This version” Regina says, looking Emma in the eyes.

“I thought you didn’t like drunk Emma?”

“No you fool!” Regina sighs, because insulting Emma comes naturally, even, or perhaps more so, during a heart-to-heart conversation like this. “Just you, like this, being yourself, not lessened by trying to be what someone else expects you to be. You contain multitudes, Emma. You are Henry’s mother and my friend and co-parent. You are the woman who owns multiple different items of plaid clothing and yet you’re apparently straight. You’re the idiot who thrust herself into the darkness to save me without thinking of the consequences. You are the Savior, not because other people expect you to be but because you can’t help it, it is in your nature to protect people and to fight for what matters. All of this together is you, there is no one part of you that is my favorite.”

Emma stares at her, her eyes deep and searching. “You’re wrong.” Emma asserts.

“About which bit?”

“I’m not straight.” And Emma closes the gap and kisses her; it is surprisingly gentle. Regina allows it for a moment or two.

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you enjoyed. Kudos and comments always welcome.
> 
> (This was uncomfortable to write for me because I'm British so to me there should be a "u" in "favourite" and "saviour".)


End file.
